Dispensing container



Aug' 24, 41943- M. Mol. DUKEHART, JR 2,327,406

DI SPENSING CONTAINER Filed Sept. 17, 1941 Patented Aug. 24, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPENSING CON TAINER y Morton McLDukehart, Jr., NewRochelle, N. Y., assignor to Continental Can Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 17, 1941,-SerialNo. 411,211

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in containers, and moreparticularly to improvements in a dispensing container having a closure which may be selectively tilted to various positions for controllingl'the dispensing openings.'

According to the present invention, thecontainer includes a body portion which is preferably rectangular and which includes side andend walls. Both ends of the body portion are closed but opposed side or end walls at one end thereof are provided with pouring and sifting openings. Thusthecontents of the container maybe poured or siited through the corresponding dispensing openings by tilting the. container. However, the dispensing openings are normally covered bythe closure which istiltably connected to the adjacent end of the container. This closure is adapted to selectively control the dispensing openings and may be tilted from a horizontal position covering and closing the dispensing openings to alternate tilted positions either uncovering the pouring opening or uncovering the sifting openings.

An object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing container of the above type wherein the ends of the container are horizontally closed but opposed sidewalls of the container are formed with pouring and dispensing openings which are adapted to be controlledl by a tiltable closure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing container of the above type wherein the closure may be selectively tilted from a neutral position covering the dispensing openings to one position exposing the pouring opening or to ano-therposition exposing the sifting openings.

A further object of the invention-is to provide a dispensing container of the above type wh rein the closure may be tilted about either one of a pair of hinge axes each of which consists of a snap connection between the closure and the container.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing container of the above type wherein both hinge connections between the closure and the container are in engagement when the closure is in a neutral position covering all the dispensing openings.

The above vand other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will be hereinafter more fully pointed out.

In the accompanying drawing:v

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the container with the broken lines indicating the closure `in oneof its selected open positions.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1 showing the dispensing openings.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure Li is enlarged'fragmentary,sectional View taken along the lined- 4 of Figure A1.

Figure is a top planvew of the container.

Referring more in detail to the accompanying drawing, the ycontainer includes a body wall I0 which is preferably rectangular in shape and which includes side and-'end walls. The bottom of the body wall :is closed by an end I I which may be secured thereto by a conventional double seam or the like. The opposite or top end oftheV body wall is provided with a reduced rectangular neck portion EL below which there is provided an outward peripheral strengthening bead IS.

The top end of the body portion is closed by a friction cover l having opposed end walls I5, I5a and opposed side walls i6, ita. These side-and end walls from an imperforate horizontal top closing wall and are adapted to fit overand frictionally engage the neck portion I2 on the container. As illustrated in the accompanying drawing, the end wall I5 is provided with a pouring opening it and the endwall. ld is provided with sifting openings i, these openings` being disposed near the top closing wall` Il.V The side walls it, are provided with outwardly eX- tending ribs 26d, respectively, which may serve as finger grips for facilitating removal of the cover iii from the container in order to per-Y mit the contents of the Icontainer' to be withdrawn by insertion of a spoon or ythe like.

A control member 2l in the form of a closure is connected to the containerfor selective tilting movements in order to selectively control the pouringl opening. I and the sifting Openings I9. The closure member 2| is provided with a horizontal top closing wa1l22 and with depending side walls 2s, 23a and also with depending end walls 214, 2da. The side and end walls Yfit over the corresponding side and end walls of theV cover I4 andthe end walls 24, 24a are adapted to control the pouring opening I8 and the sifting Openings I 9, respectively. j

The side wall ljof the cover I4 is provided with longitudinally spaced inwardly extending dimples or recesses'a which are disposed slightly above4 the rib 2G.` Similarly, the side wallv Ilia is provided with similarly spaced inwardly extendingdirnples or recesses 28, 2M whichare disposed above the ribdct.v The. side wall 23 of the closure member 2i is provided with inwardly extendingY 22 thereof slightly above the top wall il of the.

cover I4. The end walls 2li, 2da are shorter than the side walls 23, 23a which are cut away along inclined lines Si, Ela.l from the end walls toa point substantially in line with the adjacent in- Ward projections.

When the closure member 2i is in the position shown in Figure 3, the inward projections 2l, 27a t within the recesses 25, Zta and similarly, the inward projections 23, 2da fit Within the recesses 26, flial and the closure member is thus maintained in a substantially horizontal position with the depressed portions on the top wall 22 thereof bearing against the top wall il of the cover ill. n this position of the closure member, the end wall 24 covers and closes the pouring opening i8 and the end wall Zta covers and closes the dispensing openings i9. When it is desired to uncover the sifting openings l?, the closure member 2l is tilted to the position shown by the broken lines of Figure l. In this position of the closure member, the inward projections Ela, 28a are shifted out ofY their corresponding recesses 25a, Eta and the cover is adapted to hinge along the axes or" the inward projections 2l, 28 which remain in engagement with their corresponding recesses 25, 26. In this position of the closure member it will be seen that the bottom edge of the end wall 24a has been elevated so as to uncover tlie dispensing openings i9. The closure member is limited in its tilting movement by binding engagement between the edges of the end walls and the end Walls of the cover ill and the inclined or cut away portions Si, Sla of the side walls of the cover serve to permit, together with the slight eXibility of the material, this tilting movement of the closure member. When it is desired to uncover the pouring opening i3, the closure member 2i may be tilted in the opposite direction with the axes of the projections Ela, 28a serving as the hinge axis. In order to prevent the fingers or thumb from slipping off the closure 2l when shifting the same to one of its selected tilted positions, roughened or ribbed surfaces 32 are provided at each end thereof for engagement with the iingers or thumb.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides a highly eicient dispensing container having a pouring opening and sifting openings formed in opposite end walls of the body wall of the container or, as in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, these dispensing openings are formed in the end walls of a closure for one end of the container. The closure for controlling the dispensing openings is shiftable from an intermediate neutral position covering the pouring opening and the sifting openings to selected tilted positions uncovering either the pouring opening or the sifting openings. The side and end walls of the closure member are shaped so as to facilitate tilting movement thereof and to also limit this tilting movement. The side Walls are formed to cooperate with the side Walls of the cover for the container so as to provide at least one hinge point for the closure member. As illustrated, however, the

closure member has two hinge connections adjacent each end of the container cover and these hinge connections become selectively operable depending upon the manner in which the closure member is tilted. although a single central hinge connection may be employed if so desired. In the neutral position of the closure member, the pour Y ing opening and the sifting openings are covered by the end Walls of the closure member and the depending projections on the closure member serve'to properly locate the same with respect to the dispensing openings.

While one form of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be clearly understood that minor changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A dispensing container comprising a substantially rectangular body portion with opposed peripheral end Walls provided with dispensing openings therethrough, and a substantially rectangular closure member fitting over one end of the body portion and having the peripheral end walls thereof adapted to control the dispensing openings, and the peripheral side Walls of said body portion and said closure member having cooperating pairs of projections and recesses selectively providing a pivotal connection for the closure member permitting limited tilting thereof from a neutral position covering the dispensing openings to selected tilted positions uncovering one or another of the dispensing openings.

2. A dispensing container comprising a substantially rectangular body portion with opposed peripheral end Walls provided with dispensing openings therethrough, and a substantially rectangular closure member fitting over one end of the body portion and having the end Walls thereof adapted to control the dispensing openings, and the peripheral side walls of said body portion and vof said closure member having spaced cooperating projections and recesses providing for the closure member a pair of spaced pivotal connections selectively operable to permit limited tilting of the closure member from a neutral position covering the dispensing openings to selected tilted positions uncovering one or another of the dispensing openings.

3. A dispensing container comprising a substantially rectangular body portion with opposed peripheral end walls provided with dispensing openings therethrough, and a substantially rectangular closure member provided with peripheral side and end walls fitting over the peripheral Walls of said body portion with corresponding opposed peripheral end walls adapted to control the dispensing openings, the perihpheral side walls of said body portion and of said closure member having cooperating projections and recesses providing a pivotal connection for the closure member permitting limited tilting thereof from a neutral position covering the dispensing openings to selected tilted positions uncovering one or another of the dispensing openings, and the top Wall of said closure member having spaced downward projections abutting against the top of said body portion for properly positioning the 

